This invention relates to needlestrips and interlocking needle-carriers, the needlestrips and needle-carriers having cooperable protuberances and slots, such structures being used in needle-carrying textile machines.
Interlocking needlestrips and needle-carriers are disclosed in applicant's German Patent Application No. P 29 06 544.9 and are useful, for example, with textile machines, such as tenterframes, combing machines, heckles, fiber processing machines, perforating machines, expanders and the like. The mechanical interlocking of such needlestrip and needle-carrier must be secure and should be adequate to satisfy the static demands of such a machine. The replacement of needlestrips should be sufficiently simple such that a minimum of time is needed for such an operation and the expense of such replacement is reduced as much as possible.
According to the invention of applicant's aforesaid German patent application, protuberances arranged on one element are cooperable with corresponding slots in another element, and a secure interconnection is obtained when the protuberances are shifted into the terminal portions of the slots. In such application, the proturberances are usually provided upon the needlestrip and the slots are formed in the needle-carrier at the machine side; however, it was contemplated also that a reverse construction was possible. According to the present invention, the protuberances are provided on the needle-carrier and slots are on arranged on an angular bracket which is positioned so as to abut the needlestrip on at least one side thereof and also at the frontal face or surface carrying the needles. The bracket is configured and dimensioned to be introduced in the needle-carrier together with the needlestrip. Although, as compared with the construction of applicant's cited application, an additional component in the form of a bracket is required, construction of the needlestrips themselves is simplified since it is unnecessary to form either protuberances or slots therein. Rather, the angular bracket is anchored in the U-inner space or recess of the needlestrip which is no different from needlestrips on any other machine. It suffices to have the bracket at least partly overlap the frontal face of the needlestrip at least so far that the needlestrip is held securely. This is of particular importance when the needles are mounted with very small distances therebetween.
In its simplest form, an L-shaped bracket is employed. However, in another embodiment a bracket is used which has a U-shaped cross section so that its web element abuts one side of the needlestrip and its opposed legs abut the respective opposite frontal faces or surfaces of the needlestrip. This U-shaped bracket accepts in its recess the needlestrip so that the needles mounted therein project from one frontal face. For this purpose, the leg of the bracket which abuts the face of the needlestrip from which the needles project is provided with apertures to accommodate passage of the needle stems therethrough. According to another alternative, they may consist of arcuate recesses which are open towards the free end of the bracket leg.
Another alternative of the invention provides for locking pins arranged upon the leg of the bracket which abuts the frontal face of the needlestrip comprising its base. These locking pins can be releasably locked within apertures in the transverse connecting section or bight of the U-shaped needle-carrier. Such interconnection supplements the cooperable action between the proturbances and slots and thereby additionally increases the security of the connection between the needlestrip and needle-carrier without making replacement of the needlestrips difficult.
These apertures in the needle-carrier may comprise an enlarged section for reception of an enlarged head of the locking pins and a longitudinally extending slot-like opening for reception of the stem of the locking pin. A wedging action between the locking pins and corresponding apertures results in tightening of the connection upon longitudinal movement.
It is furthermore within the ambit of the invention to provide the protuberances in the form of pins which are set into boreholes in one leg of the needle-carrier which pins protrude by their tips into the inner space or recess of the needle-carrier. This step greatly simplifies manufacture of the device.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent from the ensuing description.